Win my heart
by Supernaturalfantasy1124
Summary: Elena has entered a competition for the heart of one rich Stefan Salvatore who needs to be married to receive his inheritance. She was just in it for the contest payments to help her poor family, but soon she can't help falling when Stefan is nothing like they portray him. However, one of the workers there, Damon has caught her eye also, and it becomes a dangerous game of the heart
1. Chapter 1

My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt hot. I had never been in a car this fancy before. All sleek and black with so much room in the back we could have fit another 4 more girls. I hadn't seen my driver, and the divide was keeping them hidden, but about half way here I heard them cough and felt pretty safe to say it was a man.

I didn't want to be here, and my body was telling to run. To throw the door open and roll out onto the road and get up and start running and never stop. I looked at the smoothness under the window and instantly knew the car was locked from the outside.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm down, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans. They were old and worn out and had a few stains on there that weren't even mine and I tried not to think about where they came from. Most of my clothes were hand-me-downs or from a second hand shop. I didn't mind where they came from, a lot of my clothes were actually really nice and some even had the tags on them. People would wear their clothes once or twice, or sometimes not at all, before throwing them out to the second hand shop.

My family was in a really bad place. Although I was 18 and should be considering moving out and starting my own life, I couldn't leave my parents and brother. I couldn't even afford to leave if I had wanted to. My parents were once both doctors and lived a comfortable lifestyle, but then not long after my younger brother came along, a patient started accusing my dad of all kinds of things. Apparently my dad had broken his ribs giving him CPR, and then he had breathing problems because of it, and a sore neck, and then he was permanently disabled and emotionally scarred from the experience. This went on for months until all the hospital could do was fire my dad, even though there was no medical proof that the patient was hurt. Dad couldn't find work in his field again after that.

After my mum died of cancer when I was 10, I didn't think he wanted to go back into the medicine field anyways. What good was dedicating your life to medicine when it couldn't even save your wife, he used to say to us.

He now worked as a handyman, picking up work when he could. It was straining on his body but calming on his mind. He once told me when I asked why he was doing this, that he didn't have to think. He just did the job and came home. He didn't have to think about patients, he didn't have to think about saving lives, he didn't have to think about mum.

That was good for him, but not for our financial state. We went from living comfortably to living in a small 2 bedroom unit in a dodgy part of town. My brother and I picked up work when we could, waitering and any other small jobs while attending school to try and help out. I was 18 now and my brother Jeremy was 16 and would be 17 in a few months.

There was no way I could afford to go to college, but I so desperately wanted Jeremy to go. Even just to get dad into a better part of the town.

That's why I had said yes to this competition.

This town, Mystic falls, was very old and sat on a gold mine. The first family to found this place was the Salvatore's, who to this day, are easily the richest family around, probably the richest in the state, and would probably makes Forbes top 100 richest in America.

Mr and Mrs Salvatore had passed away 3 years ago, their fortune was passed onto their son, on one condition. He be married first. Now Stefan Salvatore was one of the best looking people I had ever seen, go figure, he had to be rich and good looking. But as the years ticked by, he didn't even look like he was dating let alone going to get married. In all fairness Stefan was only 20 years old, but still, that was a big fortune to put off.

Eventually this friends and relatives had had enough, and rumour has it, they forced him into this competition. I don't know how true that is, maybe they wanted him to appear more human and humble so more women would sign up. There was an announcement 6 months ago, the week after I had turned 18, saying that there was a competition being held, for any women within the State between the ages of 18 and 22. The winner would be married to Stefan Salvatore.

The town went crazy, no one knew if it was true or not until Stefan addressed the competition himself, saying that the time had come for him to settle down. All eligible women were welcomed to send in a photo and information sheet about themselves. That 100 women would be selected to attend a meet and greet with Stefan himself. From there, 100 would become 50, where the women were then sent to a weekend away trip to an unknown location with Stefan, where only 20 would go through to the next round, going back to his mansion in Mystic Falls. From there the girls would be dwindled down until one remained and she got to be the bride.

As a joke my friends and I signed up. Not to mention that anyone who made it through the first round into the 50, would instantly get $10,000. If you made it through to the next round of 20, you got another $10,000. Then of course if you won you got to be married into the richest family around.

The money was a big part of why I signed up. I didn't want to marry Stefan. I had never even considered not marrying for love. But if I could make it into the top 20, it would make the world of difference for my family.

Not that I ever thought I'd get in. Thousands of girls would be entering this competition, they wouldn't be looking at someone so plain as myself. With brown hair and brown eyes, I didn't exactly stand out. I wasn't curvy, I was flat in all the worst places. I was just plain. Not to mention they would take one look at my application and assume I was in it for the money once they looked into my life and where I lived.

So when I got the call to say I had been selected to be one of the 100 girls I couldn't believe it.

Now here I was, 3 days after that phone call, sitting in the back of a fancy car getting driven to the first location.

It was 7 o'clock in the morning, and I had only been told that I was to spend 3 hours getting my outfit picked, my make up and hair done and go through the introduction and rules, before we then got to spend the entire day with each other and Stefan Salvatore.

I was feeling really nervous considering I was probably going to be sent home tomorrow with the other 50 girls. But as the car came to a stop I couldn't help but think what if I wasn't.

My door was pulled open by one of the handsomest guys I had ever seen. He had dark brown floppy hair, intense, striking blue eyes, and a jawline for days. If this was the door guy, imagine what other good looking men were working in this place I thought to myself but shook my head. He opened his mouth and in a deep voice said, "Elena Gilbert. We're here".


	2. Chapter 2

A tall woman with her light brown hair in a bun and clicking heels rushed to my side and motioned for me to follow her.

"Hi Miss Gilbert, my name is Andie Star, I am going to be showing you to your hair and makeup today. If you make it through the first cut than I will also be the one to help you with hair and makeup further on in the competition. I will be here to help you with any questions you have and anything you need. I will also be here to help you if any media or paparazzi are after you so to help you say the right thing. Do you have any questions?" She reeled off and I was almost in a jog trying to keep up with her.

"I-I don't think so" I stuttered out. I was actually wondering where my suitcase was, but I didn't ask.

"That's ok I'm sure you'll have a million questions when you calm down and get settled in. So today I am taking you first to get an outfit chosen. You see, my old job was actually on the reality tv show Win a bachelor, which was basically the same as this but with cameras on tv, and all the girls had to buy their own dresses and bring their own outfits from home, but Mr Salvatore has kindly offered to pay for any clothes and other items that you girls will need while staying here" she rambled and I didn't know if I was supposed to be grateful or what so I just nodded my head and stayed quiet while I walked quickly behind her.

"After your outfit has been chosen, your makeup and hair will be done. Of course, these are done after the outfit, so they can be matched to what you'll be wearing" she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world and I just half chuckled like I agreed with her.

I followed her up a path towards a group of buildings in a line that was blocking what looked like a park behind it. Whenever Andie stepped I could see a clipboard over her shoulder with my picture on it and my name next to it. I could see there was more writing but couldn't quite see enough to read it, wondering what was on it. I tried to tell myself it was just the kind of information they asked for on the application I'd given such as my birthday was June 22nd, making me a Cancer sign, I was right handed, my favourite food was eggplant, my favourite colour was purple, I wanted to be a writer, I couldn't cook and was 5 foot 6. It had been about 50 questions long.

I was just starting to struggle keeping up with Andie when we had made it up to the first building. She pulled the door open and motioned for me to follow her inside. I followed her down a corridor which had rooms on each side, just like a hotel.

"This place was an old camp. There are hundreds of rooms on this property" she said like she had read my mind.

I could hear voices coming from the rooms as we passed.

"Most of the girls are already here and are getting ready like you. One girl to each room, the fashion team will come find you when they are free, we have about 20, and then afterwards the hair and makeup people will come find you" she explained.

"While I am going to be spread out between the girls as there are not many people in my role, I am here if you have any questions, tell someone working and they will know where to come get me" she smiled and I realised we had stopped outside a room. Number 77.

"This will be your number for the remainder of the competition. So if someone calls out number 77, they're talking about you" she said and I could tell she was apologetic about the fact I was just going to be a number to these people. She unlocked the door and I walked in, the door closing behind me.

The light was already on and I looked around. It was a very small room, probably the size of a lounge room, maybe big enough for a bed and some draws if need be. There was a small couch in the corner and a large rack of clothes against the wall. Against the other wall was a small desk, mirror and chair with a second light hanging over it not yet turned on. I saw another door on the right side if the room and as I turned the handle, it opened and I saw it was a small bathroom with just a toilet and sink.

I sat down on the couch, trying not to look too hard at the clothes on the rack and I could see they were mostly all dresses. It's not that I didn't like dresses, I just never really had any. The only time I wore dresses was for special events, and even then they were just from the second hand shop so I mostly had old fashioned, down to my ankle loose dresses, or sometimes if I was lucky, a nice casual sundress.

I sat there for about 20 minutes before I heard a brisk knock and the door opened.

"Hi, I'm Nora, I'll be helping you pick out your clothes today" a girl said, walking in and closing the door behind her. She was extremely good looking and looked to be in her early 20's. With wavy brown hair she bounced into the room on her 6 inch heels. She had an English accent and hazel eyes and I felt a little jealous that someone with basically brown hair and eyes like me could look so good.

"Stand up dear let me take a look at you" she motioned for me to get up and I did, feeling her eyes judging me as they looked me up and down.

"Hmm, well you have a nice thin shape. Sporty I would almost say. We'll have to get something that clings to your curves to prove they're there. With your dark hair we could use purples and reds to make your hair and eyes pop, and with your olive skin it won't make you look pale. Excellent" she seemingly said to herself.

She had me try on a few dresses before she finally clapped her hands together.

"This one. I am happy with this one" she said, turning me to see what I could of myself in the half mirror. It was a short black lace dress. With small cap sleeves and see through cut-outs and slits all over it in a gorgeous pattern, which made it look as though I was a wearing skin coloured slip underneath it, but once closer I could see it was my own skin, which somehow made it sexier and still classy. It went down to my mid-thighs and clung to my curves. Nora had fished out an appropriate bra for me to wear.

"You don't like it?" Nora suddenly asked frowning.

"I do. I really do. I just haven't worn anything this fancy before" I admitted and she grinned. At the bottom of the rack were all different kinds of shoes. I winced as I noticed they all had some kind of high heel. I was grateful though when she pulled out a simple black pair with only a small 1 or 2 inch on them and she handed them too me.

"I guess you don't wear a lot of heels" she said, noting my old converses on the couch and I gave a small embarrassed smile.

Nora wished me luck as there was another knock on the door and she left as the other girl same in.

"My name is Mary Louise" she said, throwing a heavy looking bag on the desk with a thump. This woman looked to be around the same age but carried herself with her chin in the air. She had straight blonde hair, green eyes and was pale, but somehow just as pretty as Nora had been in a completely different way.

She unzipped her bag and brought out some hair curlers and placed on the floor before bringing out yet another bag which was full of makeup.

"Sit" she said, pointing to the chair. I sat down and felt her eyes on me and I felt even more judged than before.

"You have clean unblemished skin which is a nice olive complexion" she said and it sounded more like a fact than a compliment.

"Medium coverage makeup I think will be appropriate for you today" she said and started pulling things out of her bag. I didn't own a lot of makeup, so this was going to be a new experience. While I was glad that it was going to be kept at a minimum, part of me wondered what I'd look like fully done up. Maybe if I stayed in the competition long enough I would find out.

She started applying concealer and god knows what on my face. I sat there quietly as I let her poke and prod me for about half an hour until he looked content, moving from the mirror to let me see. While it was subtle and it looked natural and like only a little had been done, it looked amazing to me. My skin was flawless and my eyes were large. She had applied brown eye-shadow and blended it with reds and blacks to get the perfect shade I had only seen on tv. She had applied liner and mascara to make my lashes long and black and my eyes looked wide in the best way. She had also applied a nude coloured lipstick which made my lips stand out in a natural way.

"This is amazing" I told her and she just shrugged, tugging at my hair.

Within another 20 minutes she had curled my hair, leaving most of it down while pinning some of it back out of my face, but leaving a curl or two fall in front.

"There" she said, beginning to pack up her stuff.

"You're amazing. This is just incredible" I said as she went to leave.

"Thanks" she said with a small smile, leaving the room and me alone.

I had barely had enough time to admire myself in the mirror when there was another knock and Andie was back.

"Well don't you look fabulous. Come on its time. We're bringing all the girls out to the area to give everyone an introduction and run down before Stefan joins you in half an hour or so" she said and I followed her out. She took me outside to where there was a large beautiful park with grass and big willow trees. It was still a small area though I noticed seeing the gate around the area. As I wandered out I noticed there was about 60 other girls already waiting outside. And they all looked stunning.

I groaned internally, knowing I wouldn't make it through to tomorrow. But at least I could enjoy it while I was here, I thought to myself, joining the rest of the girls while a man jumped up in front with a clipboard.


End file.
